Mats Jørgen Thorsen

Techniques for Predicting Tensile Armour Buckling and Fatigue in Deep Water Flexible Pipes

Free hanging deep water flexible risers are associated with high static top tension. In addition comes significant dynamic tension due to the tangential drag forces mobilised along the riser due to floater motions and wave loads. At the upper end fitting where conditions of direct metallic contact between tensile armours might occur, this may result in the fretting fatigue failure mode. This mechanism may be additionally triggered by the increase in longitudinal stress resulting from local bending at the end fitting fixation.At the touch down point, the pipe cross-section is exposed to high external pressures resulting in true wall compression possibly initiating local buckling modes in the tensile armour wires. The buckling process may be initiated by cyclic bending effects leading to a gradual reduction of each tendon’s capacity resulting in excessive transverse displacements and cross-section failure.The present paper presents a finite element formulation and analytical models addressing both of the above topics. A case study is further carried out to document the performance of the FE model and to investigate effects related to the transverse bending stress at the end fitting and under which conditions one single armour tendon will fail in different buckling modes.Copyright

Time Domain Simulation of Vortex-Induced Vibrations Based on Phase-Coupled Oscillator Synchronization

Since 2012, there has been ongoing development of a simplified hydrodynamic force model at the Norwegian University of Science and Technology which enables time domain simulation of vortex-induced vibrations (VIV). Time domain simulation has a number of advantages compared to frequency domain. More specifically, having a time domain formulation of the hydrodynamic force which is efficient and reliable, will allow designers to include any relevant non-linear effects in their simulations, thereby increasing the level of realism and confidence in the results. The present model computes the dynamic cross-flow and in-line fluid force on a circular cross-section based on the incoming local flow velocity and the motion of the cylinder section. The most important difference between this and other existing models is the way synchronization between the vortex shedding and cylinder motion is taken into account. In contrast to the traditional VIV prediction tools, the vortex shedding frequency is in this model free to vary within a specified range, and changes according to the instantaneous phase difference between the cylinder velocity and the vortex shedding process itself. Hence, the oscillating lift and drag forces continuously update their frequencies, trying to lock on to the frequency of vibration. Combined with a simple hydrodynamic damping model and a constant added mass, it has previously been shown that highly realistic results can be obtained. In this paper, the theoretical background is reviewed, and the capabilities of the model are tested against new cases. These are: i) High mode VIV of tension-dominated riser in sheared flow, and ii) Low mode VIV of a pipeline with high bending stiffness. Both cross-flow and in-line vibrations are considered, and comparison with experimental observations is given. Based on the results, strengths and weaknesses of the model is discussed, and an outline of future developments is given.Copyright